When my friend and neighbor Sandy Perrin asked me to redo her favorite corn pudding recipe, I was hesitant. She had been making the dish for years and loves it. But she wanted it slimmed down and not so sweet.

After a few tries, I came up with this version.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon unsalted butter, plus more for the baking dish

½ medium sweet onion, cut into ¼-inch dice

Salt

2 ¾ cups fresh or frozen/defrosted corn kernels

2 large eggs

3 tablespoons cornstarch

¾ cup part-skim ricotta cheese

¾ cup low-fat milk (2 percent)

1/3 cup sugar

2 tablespoons chopped chives

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Use a little butter to grease a 1½-to-2-quart shallow baking dish. Melt the tablespoon of butter in a medium nonstick saute pan or skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and stir to coat. Season with salt to taste, then reduce the heat to medium and cook for about 8 minutes, stirring occasionally and adjusting the heat so the onion softens but does not brown. Transfer to a large bowl.

Combine the corn, eggs, cornstarch, ricotta, milk and sugar in a blender. Season with salt to taste. Puree until almost smooth. Add corn mixture and chives to the onion in the bowl; stir to combine. Pour mixture into baking dish. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, until firm.